Family Background

1804. July 10: Born in Harmony, Pennsylvania.

1827. January 18: Eloped with Joseph Smith, Jr.; they had eleven children:

Alva (born and died June 15, 1828) Louisa and Thaddeus (twins born and died April 30, 1831)
Joseph and Julia (adopted twin son and daughter of John and Julia Clapp Murdock born April 30, 1831; Joseph died March 29, 1832, and Julia in 1880)
Joseph III (born November 6, 1832; died November 10, 1914)
Frederick Granger Williams (born June 20, 1836; died April 13, 1862)
Alexander Hale (born June 2, 1838; died August 12, 1909)
Don Carlos (born June 13, 1840; died August 15, 1841)
Unnamed son (born and died December 26, 1842)
David Hyrum (born November 17, 1844; died August 29, 1904)

"Elect Lady"

1829. Assisted the Prophet for a short time as a Book of Mormon scribe after Martin Harris lost the 116 pages of manuscript.

1830. June 20 Baptized by Oliver Cowdery.

July: A revelation designated Emma "an elect lady whom I have called. … And the office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his affliction, with consoling words, in the spirit of meekness. … And thou shalt be ordained under his hand to expound scriptures, and to exhort the church according as it shall be given thee by my Spirit" (D&C 25:3, 5, 7).

First Relief Society President

In response to an 1835 commandment, Emma selected hymns to be published in the first hymnbook, A Collection of Sacred Hymns. She also worked on revisions in 1839 and 1842 and, later, on a Reorganized LDS hymnbook.

1842. March 17: Called to be the first president of the Relief Society.

Wife and Homemaker

An efficient business woman, Emma often helped Joseph with tithing appraisals and the operation of his boardinghouses. She was also an accomplished hostess. On their fifteenth wedding anniversary she and Joseph served seventy-four guests at four tables. An immaculate housekeeper, she redressed her hair every day after completing her afternoon work.

1842. August: After three weeks of hiding from Missouri lawmen, Joseph returned to Nauvoo, where he described his feelings for Emma: "With what unspeakable delight, and transports of joy swelled my bosom, when I took by the hand, on that night, my beloved Emma—she that was my wife, even the wife of my youth, the choice of my heart. Many were the reverberations of my mind when I contemplated for a moment the many scenes we had been called to pass through, the fatigues and the toils, the sorrows and sufferings, and the joys and consolations, from time to time, which had strewed our paths and crowned our board. Oh what a commingling of thought filled my mind for the moment, again she is here, even in the seventh trouble—undaunted, firm, and unwavering— unchangeable, affectionate Emma!"

First Woman to Receive Fullness of Priesthood with Husband

1843. September 28: A year after Joseph Smith introduced the Holy Order (endowment) to eight men, Emma Smith was sealed to him for time and eternity. According to the manuscript "Meetings of the anointed Quorum," the Prophet was"anointed & ordained to the highest order of the priesthood (& Companion-d[itt]o.)"

As an anointed prophetess, queen, and priestess, Emma Smith often performed the anointing and endowment ceremonies for other women introduced into the Holy Order during the next six months. Joseph Smith asked her, Bathsheba W. Smith, and Eliza R. Snow to design the garment for the actual endowment ceremonies. "They were too poor to buy buttons, so they tore strips of the cloth for strings … in making the garment they did not know just how to finish them at the top. Emma suggested that a small collar be put on which was done." The basic garment worn by endowed persons when not participating in temple ordinances was the two-piece under-garment in common use at the time, with the addition of specified markings.

Prophet's Widow

1844. June: Emma has often been blamed for causing Joseph's return across the Mississippi River to Nauvoo by accusing him of cowardice. Actually, businessmen Reynolds Cahoon and Hiram Kimball, worried that the city business district would be adversely affected if the governor were to declare martial law, wrote to the Prophet demanding he return. Emma's letter apparently described the difficulties in Nauvoo and the possible consequences of his leaving or returning.

When Joseph requested advice from Porter Rockwell and Hyrum Smith, Hyrum replied, "Let us go back and give ourselves up and see the thing out." Joseph then said, "If you go back I will go with you, but we shall be butchered." Hyrum, anxious to attend his daughter's wedding in Nauvoo, replied: "No, no: Let us go back and put our trust in God, and we shall not be harmed. The Lord is in it. If we live or have to die, we will be reconciled to our fate."

Contrary to popular belief, Joseph seems not to have been planning to go west. On June 23 he wrote Emma, "You may sell the Quincy property or any property that belongs to me that you can find anything about, for your support and children and Mother. Do not despair. If God ever opens a door that is possible for me I will see you again. I do not know where I shall go or what I shall do, but shall if possible endeavor to get to the city of Washington."

Emma Smith was widowed June 27, 1844, when Joseph and Hyrum were killed in Carthage Jail. Eliza R. Snow wrote of her at this time:

I knew her ere she had been left
In her heart's loneliness—
Before her prospects were bereft
Of all its happiness.
I've seen the willow bending low,
And 'tis unbroken still.

"Excommunication"

Less than enthusiastic about the ascendency of the Quorum of the Twelve and Brigham Young to the leadership of the Church, Emma Smith became suspect because of her closeness to Joseph's erratic brother William and his succession claims. She and Brigham Young also disagreed over the disposition of Joseph's estate.

Disfavor with Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and others prompted rumors that she had been excommunicated. The September 11, 1844, Warsaw Signal reported, "It is rumored that on Sunday, nineteen of the leading Mormons were ejected from the church at Nauvoo, among whom were … Emma Smith, the prophet's widow." Such rumors, however, were unfounded.

Emma Bidamon

1846. Two years after Joseph's death, Emma moved to Fulton, Illinois, to be closer to her family. One year later, however, she moved back to the Nauvoo Mansion House, declaring, "I have no place to go but home, and no friend but God."

1847. December 23: Married non-Mormon businessman Lewis C. Bidamon—an attentive husband and father, although he had a drinking problem and fathered an illegitimate child whom Emma raised as her own.

She also cared for the Prophet's mother, who, like Emma, did not go west with the Saints. Lucy Smith wrote of her, "I have never seen a woman in my life, who would endure every species of fatigue and hardship, from month to month, and from year to year, with that unflinching courage, zeal, and patience, which she has ever done; for I know that which she has had to endure—she has been tossed upon the ocean of uncertainty—she has breasted the storms of persecution, and buffeted the rage of men and devils, which would have borne down almost any other woman."

1860. Emma Smith affiliated with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints after Joseph Smith III became its first president. She had not raised her son to become president of the RLDS Church. Reluctant at first, he only decided to accept the presidency after persuasion from the church's founders.